After establishing Roger Moore as a viable James Bond in Live and Let Die, the next film runs with its momentum in some ways and goes back to its roots in others. The Man with the Golden Gun manages to up the stakes both personally and professionally for James Bond. There are similarities to one of my favorite Bond films with the plot and villain that play out in fun ways but deviate to make this a very Roger Moore-type Bond film.

The Connery films had their share of secret, evil lairs. Some of them were very extravagant, like in You Only Live Twice, but that was more the exception than the rule. If you count the blimp from A View to a Kill, every Roger Moore Bond film has a facility or headquarters that is used in the climax sequence—the next two films each have two! The Moore Bond films were all about spectacle with Moore’s version of the character being as charming and British as possible while he murdered enemy spies with ease. So, while I didn’t enjoy his movies as much as a kid because I preferred the espionage spy stuff over the fun and occasionally cartoonish action, I’ve come to mostly love this era of Bond, with The Man with the Golden Gun at the top of the list.

Pros

Christopher Lee’s Scaramanga is a fun and suitable villain for Moore’s Bond
Good car chase sequence aside from one particular moment
Classic villain lair on a remote island
Similar tension of having an assassin watching Bond at all times as From Russia with Love
The detective plot is easy to follow and makes sense without being overly complicated
Sunken ship spy base
Moore’s Bond use of force in interrogation
Plot similarities to The Deadliest Game

Cons

Nothing ruins an impressive stunt like a slide-whistle sound effect
Terrible sheriff from Live and Let Die returns
Scaramanga’s death is too telegraphed even for the villain to understand
Ditsy blonde side gag with Goodnight—another incompetent female spy
The physics and mechanics of the movie are all over the place

Plot & Thoughts

A classy man with three nipples is enjoying the luxuries of sunbathing on a beach close to Thailand when his servant notifies him that something is ready. Suddenly, he’s attacked by an assassin who nearly succeeds in shooting the three-nippled gentleman in the funhouse that is in his home. It turns out that the man with the “superfluous papilla” is Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), aka the three-titular man with the golden gun, and his servant, Nick Nack (Herve Villechaize), hired the hitman at Scaramanga’s request to help him train as the ultimate assassin. Who is his prey? Who else?! But this is not just a movie about one man’s vendetta against James Bond (Roger Moore). There’s more to it.

The plot that is more relevant to the rest of the world revolves around energy technology. A revolutionary piece of solar energy equipment, which could change the way energy is produced to the level that solar could compete with fossil fuels, is stolen. While there are plenty of people who might want to get their hands on such technology (i.e. oil companies), James Bond has other leads and finds himself in the sights of Scaramanga, who seems to be involved in some way or another. It’s a matter of following clues to locate the stolen tech and ensure the golden bullet aimed at James Bond misses its mark.

Similar to how I felt going from Dr. No to From Russia with Love (FRWL), The Man with the Golden Gun (TMWTGG) manages to up the stakes both personally and professionally for James Bond after Live and Let Die. Live and Let Die, while far from the most interesting or engaging Bond film in the library, still was a decent start for the Moore era. TMWTGG uses a similar setup to FRWL by having a piece of prized technology be the MacGuffin to move the plot along while also having an assassin with the intent to kill Bond looming over him. Just like the opening scene in FRWL with Grant (Robert Shaw) stalking someone as practice for James Bond, Scaramanga kills the hitman in his funhouse with a statue of Bond at the end as his reminder of his primary goal. Scenes like these quickly establish a threat to Bond to help drive up the tension throughout the movie and it’s an effective method to immediately give agency to the character. I also think the villains appropriately match the versions of Bond they’re facing. Grant against Connery’s Bond works well because Connery was more the jock who spoke with his fists. The scene in which Grant and Bond finally confront each other is a very physical scuffle. Scaramanga is a refined gentleman, in the same way, Moore portrays Bond, so their faceoff starts with a pistol duel on the beach and soon becomes a game of cat and mouse as the two play a very mental game against each other.

This movie is probably my favorite of the Moore films due to the fact it keeps all the espionage at the forefront and stays relatively grounded. Bond has to do a fair amount of detective work and even uses some intimidation tactics when dealing with a henchwoman of Scaramanga. It’s one of the juxtapositions I like about Moore’s performance is that while he maintains a calm and charming demeanor throughout most interactions, he occasionally has a spark of physical toughness to remind you that he’s playing an assassin. One of my favorite instances of this happens in the next movie, but we’ll talk about it when we get there.

Even though TMWTGG is more grounded than the films that follow, it’s still a very Roger Moore Bond experience: there’s a secret lair that self-destructs and a solar-powered laser gun. It’s not like this is completely out of the realm of the fantastic, but it’s much tamer when compared to the types of bombastic stories, villains, and stunts the iconic spy will face throughout the franchise, and I don’t mean to diminish Scaramanga with that statement. Christopher Lee perfectly plays the role of the cunning assassin with ambition by coming across as a refined gentleman willing to kill anyone in his way. His reputation for never missing is reinforced all the way up to the end and Lee manages to convey his threatening presence in every scene. It’s unfortunate then that he meets his end in such a predictable and anti-climatic manner. The scene in which it occurs is still tense, but the movie sets it up from the very beginning how it’s going to go down. When it does, it makes Scarmanga look like a dummy for not thinking about it at that moment.

The other criticisms I have of this film are relatively minor. The running gag of the ditsy blonde is rather dumb when you consider the character Goodnight (Britt Ekland) is supposed to be a spy. I seriously doubt MI6 would have someone whom James Bond so frequently chastises for being inept in the field on such important missions. There was an inept spy in Live and Let Die as well, but she was considered “inexperienced” with only one other mission under her belt (which she failed), so she had an excuse, at least. And then, there is the return of the annoying Louisiana sheriff from Live and Let Die, JW (Clifton James), who happens to be vacationing in Thailand at the same time James Bond is on a mission there. For a few excruciating minutes, JW rides along with Bond during a car chase that would otherwise be a standout feature of the film if not for the grating noises coming out of the man’s mouth and the most egregious use of a slide-whistle sound effect that diminishes a really cool car stunt.

TL;DR

The Man With the Golden Gun is one of the more grounded entries in the Moore era without losing the outlandish elements of the Bond franchise during this time. The villain is charismatic and iconic and he has an evil lair with a laser gun. Yet, a majority of how the plot plays out relies on Bond making good spy decisions and the lurking evil of the assassin with Bond in his sights. It’s a good blend of the wild things that define the James Bond experience without getting too ludicrous to not take it seriously.

Hair of the Dog Drinking Rule

There are two key details that are mentioned when describing the main villain, Scaramanga: he has a gold gun and a third nipple. Since these are the key clues on which the film focuses, so should you when looking for a reason to sip your beverage.